All in

I really mean it when I say that every member is a minister. Last Sunday’s testimonial panel showed us that everyone has a calling to discern God’s will, thoughts, and desires. Together, as ministers, we interpret God’s word and presence. Thanks Maggie Wu, Frank Hsueh, and John Tang!

This Sunday, Bob Lin will lead the Praise Band during worship. Dennis Chi will be our MC. I believe that parents with very young children should not be asked to serve in church as much as youth, young adults, and parents with older children. But it is alway inspiring when parents with little kids still step forward to serve the Lord. So to Bob and Dennis – as well as all our other parents with small kids who remain committed to serving – a big thank you for setting an example of faithfulness to all of us!

You may have noticed that we haven’t had a “Canaan People” column in the worship bulletin for the last few weeks. I’ve given up trying to maintain this column because of lack of responsiveness and lack of time. I believe I’m called to be a shepherd, but have spent increasingly more time as a volunteer coordinator or system support manager over the past few years. So please help me! Canaan’s English Ministries 2.0 can become a reality when all of us are all in. I believe that God will raise up more people to model commitment, reliability, and responsiveness!

Don’t forget –

If you understand Mandarin (or have relatives and friends who prefer to use Mandarin), invite them to our Mandarin Ministry’s outreach service this Sunday, March 22 between 10 am to noon.!

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MISSIONS UPDATE

City Team San Jose
Our City Team San Jose Kitchen support service at 580 Charles St, San Jose 95113 begins this Saturday!! Thank you all for signing up for Saturdays 3/21, 3/28, 4/18 (9 am – noon). Contact William Effendy [email William] for more information.

Canaan Taiwan Short Term Mission (June 30-July 18)
The deadline to apply for our Taiwan Summer Mission Team has been extended to next Sunday, 4/5. Contact William Effendy. [email William]

Belize Summer Mission (July 10-19, 2015)
– The deadline for application is April 12, not last week. Apologies for the mistake.
– There are only 2-3 slots available for Canaan. The two ministry foci is to lead a Vacation Bible School and help with the construction/up-keep of the Chinese/Taiwanese church in Belize. We are looking for someone to be a sous chef (who is exempt from VBS), worship leaders, and youth counselors.
– Schedule:
Friday, July 10 – travel to Belize
Saturday-Sunday (July 11-12) – getting oriented, visit city and church, prayer wa.lk
Monday-Friday(July 13-17) – VBS/Chuch construction/evening hang out with youth.
Saturday (July 18) – Cave tubing, zoo visit, ice cream party, etc.
Sunday (July 19) – return to U.S.
– Let me know if you are interested or have any questions [email me]

Luke Medical Missions is offering a Taiwan MSCE Mission (Medical Students Cultural Exchange) on July 11-19, 2015 at Mackay Medical College for American students in medical, pre-med, nursing, and hearing and speech pathology/therapy to serve as camp teaching assistants. Students in health science fields such as public health, PT, OT also also welcome. We’ve even had linguistics and engineering students join us as we run a bunch of English-learning activities.
We also welcome applicants to consider other optional service opportunities in Taiwan on July 20-25 as well as a more extended stay/shadowing/service in a Christian Hospital for 2-4 weeks (we can match for these).
The application deadline is March 31.
MSCE home page: https://mscesummercamp.wordpress.com/
Application: https://mscesummercamp.wordpress.com/apply/

HOLY WEEK (March 29-April 5)True followers of Jesus believe every week (indeed, every moment) is holy. But the week between Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem and his resurrection is extra holy. Let us pause during that week to worship a God who triumphs over evil and corruption by service and sacrifice!

PALM SUNDAY • March 29
My message will be called “This is the Day” (John 12: 12-16) and we will celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and mark the beginning of Holy Week.

WEDNESDAY • April 1
– Egg-stuffing and egg hunt volunteers needed! Sign up at kids.ecanaan.org. Volunteers are needed to help stuff eggs on Wednesday, 4/1 (7:30-8:00 in room 117) and Friday, 4/3 (6:30-7:30 in Fellowship Hall).
– Good Friday Service set up and preparation. Contact Frances Ang for more information. [email Frances]

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE • APRIL 3, 7:30-9:30 PM (Worship Hall 3)
– This year’s Good Friday Service is being organized by Frances and Tim Ang and Meixuan Lim and Ming Su. Invite friends to reflect on the Seven Last Words of Christ!
– Good Friday Children’s Programs (7:30-9:30pm) are available for preschoo/preK (ages 3-5) and Kindergarten to Grade 5, for parents attending Good Friday services at Canaan. Pre-registration required at kids.ecanaan.org.

EASTER SUNDAY • APRIL 5

– All Church Worship Service 10 AM (Worship Hall 3)
English Ministry will be leading the praise and worship at the All Church service, which starts at 10 AM in Worship Hall 1. New believers will be baptized and new members welcomed!
No changes to Children’s Ministry programs; all classes will proceed as usual. Older elementary kids will not be joining parents at the joint services in 2015.

– Children’s Egg Hunts 11:30 AM
Easter egg hunts by age/grade on Easter Sunday morning for children in grade 5 and under. Invite friends! Children will be escorted by teachers to egg hunts during their regular Sunday School classes.
Volunteers are also needed to hide eggs and assist with egg hunts on Sunday, 4/5, 11:15-12:30.

– English Ministry Reception 11:30 AM (Worship Hall 3)
During the second hour, English Ministry will gather in Worship Hall 3 to hear from our new members and to have a reception in their honor. No second hour programs will be offered.

EVERGLOW YOUTH SUNDAY. Beginning APRIL 17, we will have two Sunday youth classes: Junior High and High School students (and other configurations, too). One class will meet in Room 150, while the other will remain in the Youth Lounge.

PROMOTION SUNDAY • JUNE 7
If you are graduating from 5th grade, high school, college, or graduate studies, please send me a head shot so that we can create our annual Promotion Sunday brochure. On the Sunday, 5th graders will join our worship service for the first time and will be welcomed.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL (JULY 28-AUGUST 1)
Online registration for our popular Vacation Bible School (VBS) summer camp is open for students (grade 5 and younger) and volunteers (grade 6 to adult) at vbs.ecanaan.org. More info at vbs.ecanaan.org, or talk to Shirley Tai [email Shirley].

ALL-CHURCH RETREAT • U.C. Santa Cruz (Aug 7-9, 2015)
We will have English Youth, English Adult, Children’s, Mandarin, and Taiwanese tracks. We’ll also be at Stevenson College where there are newly renovated housing accommodations. Rachel Hung and James Chang are representing the EM/YM on the retreat planning team. Please let them know if you are interested in helping!